The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1887-01-19

the year 1777 at Point Pleasant, at
the mouth of the Great Kanaw ha
river, the Indian Chief Cornstalk
aud his young son Eilinipsico,
while held as hostages, were muir
dered by the whites in camp, in
retaliation for the shooting of a
white man by the Indians. There
is a legend that Cornstalk in his
dying moments pronounced curse
of blight and failure upon the town
for one hundred years to come. Be
the legend true or false, it is a fact
that for one hundred years from
1774 to 1874, the town though oc-
cupying a site unsurpassed in the
whole country for natural adVan-
tages, languished and failed in
every enterprise and in all thrift.
1t is also fact that since 1874 the
town has sprung into vigorous life,
a great railroad bridge spans the
Ohio river, another is being built
across the kanawha; it has become
almost railroad centre with large
manufacturing interests.
Immediately back of the town
and overlooking it there is a high
spur of the river hills, with broken
rocky crags on its face. Upon the
summit of this hill, since that
memorable day in 1777, when the
great Chief and his son were MUIR
dered, there has, at intervals at
night, been seen a dancing, wan
dering ball of FIRE, said by the SUI
perstitious to be the spirit of Eli
nipsico, the murdered boy Chief.
These are the facts as 1 gathered
them while stopping incidentally
for few days at the old Town
The appended story is not my own,
but was related to me by a queer
old man, since dead, under the fol
lowing circumstances:
After hearing the facts first rela
ted, 1 determined to go out on the
hill and try to see this strange
esprit fire ball" One dark, damp
night l climbed the hill alone,
lighted cigar and sat on a fallen
log, waiting and watching for the
light. Within al hour it came,
sometimes travelling swiftly near
the surface of the ground, then
bounding suddenly up. dropping
down, advancing aud retreating, it
glOwed with peculiar light and
seemed to beckon me to follow, this
did keeping my yes fixed with
kind of fascination upon the ligh.
until had wandered over the crest
OF the hill entirely out of sight
and sound of the town. Just as /
was getting close and gazing in
tensely at this bewitching kind of
light, stumbled and fell, rolling
perhaps twenty feet to the base of
the ridge which had been travel
ing. On rising the light was gone
and l was surprised to see standing
near me a little old man. The
moon was just now rising aud I
could see his features plainly
His hair was thin aud white, his
face wrinkled and his body bent
and bumped, so that he looked the
Oldest man had ever seen. l was
about to accost him with good
evening and try to regain the
town, when the old man laughed,
or rather it was gurgling kind of
chuckle, and asked me If l expect
ed to catch Ellinipsico's spirit
Thus challenged stopped and ask
ed the old man if he could tell me
about this strange light, or aught
that was new about the young
Chief who was murdered. "Sit
down." he said, 81 feel strange
impulse to talk tonight, it may
be because my end is approaching,
Che was found dead the next day.,
and L can tell you more than
have ever told to mortal man be-
FORE"
THE OLD MANS STORY.
'tone night, it was in the year
1874, walked out on the hill here
to look at the light that for years
has danced up and down on this
ridge like jack-o'lantern. 1 had
watched the light many times be-
fore but on this particular night it
anneared to he brighter and